How it All Began
by Miss Park Avenue
Summary: Lily Evans is bored out of her mind when she writes a random letter to someone. It's ends up in James Potter's hands. They don't realize they're writing to each other and continue it at school while Lily is being charmed by James. **CHAPTER 4 UP** R&R!
1. Bored, Lily's Letter Game, and a Meeting

Hi peeps! This is a Lily/James fic. Sorta love/hate in a way, ok? Now remember, this is a fic. This is probably not the way they met, ok? But I don't really care how ya put it. The title is: How it All Began. Pleze R&R, ok? Thanks! 

Disclaimer: None belongs to me, it all belongs to Miss J.K. Rowling. 

How it All Began 

Chapter One: Bored, Lily's Letter Game, and a Meeting 

16 year-old Lily Evans sat on her bed, bored out of her mind. Her sister Petunia was really no fun, all she wanted to do was to get Lily to show magic to her. Lily Evans was a witch who attended Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was a muggle-born, and her sister wasn't born a witch. Lily suspected that Petunia was jealous of her sister's ability to do magic. Because Lily's parents always paid close attention to Lily, and often Petunia was left out. Lily often felt sorry for her, but it was quickly erased when Petunia came to Lily for help on her problems. But Lily couldn't do what Petunia wanted, or else she would've gotten expelled. 

_Really, is my life this boring?_ thought Lily. "Mum and dad are out and Petunia is over at a friend's house. Nothing to do." _Great_ she thought. Lily got off the bed and went to her owl, Hazel. She felt like writing. _I need to talk to someone._ Then she got a sudden idea. But she needed a name to use. Lily thought of a name. _Hmm...I'll use my best friend's name. Tara._ She took out a piece of parchment and wrote: 

_Dear Whoever this comes to,_

__

_I won't tell you my real name, but let's settle for Tara. I'm bored this summer and decided to write to some person whom I don't have any idea is. Of course, it's you. I want you to write me back with my owl, she'll know where to find me. Tell me about yourself too. By the way, I'm a girl._

__

_Tara_

Lily took the note, folded it and gave it to Hazel. "Now give this note to someone like me. A witch or a wizard. And just drop it or something. I want it to be random, ok?" 

Hazel gave a hoot and went off. Lily smiled. _I think this is gonna be a thing I'm never going to forget._

~*~*~*~*~ 

James Potter laid on the grass on his front lawn. He was bored. VERY bored. Sirius was on vacation in France visiting some relatives, Remus was at home, but couldn't visit because this was the day before the full moon and he was usually tired and snappy during that time. And for some reason, he didn't want to owl Peter. Even though he was his friend, he felt that he wasn't as close to Peter as to Padfoot and Moony. He closed his eyes and then suddenly he heard a flapping of wings. He opened his eyes and saw there was an owl for him. _Maybe it's from Sirius_ thought James. He opened the letter and read it. He smiled. _This is gonna be fun._

He sprinted into the house and grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill. He wrote a reply and sent it off with Hazel. Of course he didn't tell Tara his real name, but he used his middle name. _Hardly anybody knows it_ he thought. 

He went back outside and lied back down on the lawn. He fell asleep smiling. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Lily sat by her window waiting for a reply. She started to doze off, when a loud rapping came at the window. She suddenly woke up and saw that Hazel had returned. She grabbed the note it was carrying and read: 

_Dear Tara,_

__

_Well, ok. I'll play your game. My name is Daniel, and if you're wondering, it's my middle name. I go to Hogwarts and I'm going into 6th year. I have very mischievous friends and well, let's just say, I'm smart. If you go to the same school, will I tell you who I am? Probably not. Well, write back on who you are._

__

_Daniel_

Lily eyes lit up. She grinned at the letter and grabbed another piece of parchment to write back to Daniel. She wrote: 

_Dear Daniel,_

__

_You go to Hogwarts? What a coincidence. I do too, and I'm also in sixth year. Mischeivous friends? Reminds me of these other people I know. Smart? Well, I like a guy with brains. Hard to find these days, no offense. Yeah, don't tell me who you are. This makes it more suspenseful. Well, write back soon._

__

_Tara_

Lily sent the letter off. Just then, Petunia came into the room. "What are you doing now witch?" Petunia noticed the quill and parchment. "So, who are ya writing to? Hmm? Your boyfriend?" 

"For your information Petunia, I don't have a boyfriend. And I don't plan to get one either. So, back off." 

Petunia sneered at her. "Humph, yeah right. You probably have 10 boyfriends. I mean remember last year when you came home for Christmas? You got like 15 presents from all these boys you didn't know," she said with a hint of jealously in her voice. 

"Well Petunia, you can gladly take my place if you're so jealous." 

Petunia looked at Lily with a 'if looks could kill' thing and Lily shook it off. "Petunia, you're gonna have to grow up someday, you know?" 

Petunia just stared and walked out of her room. Lily shook her head and sighed. 

She looked at the calendar. She was going back to Hogwarts in a week. She had to get her supplies. The letter came two days ago. She was a prefect, and also was James Potter. She shuddered. She really didn't like James. Even though she had a thought that James had a crush on Lily, she didn't like him back. _Though, I think he's pretty cute. And sweet. And funny. Ok, maybe I have a crush on James. But I'm not gonna let him know that._ Lily shook off the thought. Just then she heard the sound of the car door. Her parents were home. "Mom? Dad? I need to go to Diagon Alley to get my supplies!" 

"Ok, Lily! We'll go right now if you want to!" Joyce Evans, Lily's mom, yelled back. 

"Ok! I'll get my supply list!" 

Lily went through her drawer and found her list. _I hope I don't see James Potter with the Morons there. With all four of them together, that makes trouble._ "Are you ready?" Patrick Evans, Lily's dad, asked. 

"Yeah!" And with that Lily sprinted out the door. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

"James? James? We need to go get your supplies now!" screamed Areatha Potter, James's mom. 

"Why now? We have another week!" 

"We won't be here next week, remember? You're going to the train station to go to Hogwarts with your friend, Sirius Black!" 

"Oh man. I forgot," said James, slapping his hand to his forehead. 

"Get your list James! We're going right now." 

"All right." 

James dived under his bed for his list. He found it and stuck to it was a picture of Lily Evans. He grinned. _Maybe I'll meet her there._ He went downstairs and saw his dad, Evan Potter, was ready to go with him. "Dad, I'm like sixteen. Can I go by myself? I'll be a good little boy and not run off," James said in a innocent voice. Evan thought about this. He knew the trouble his son had gotten into in earlier years. But he was sixteen. "Go ahead James." James went to the fireplace and threw floo powder on it. The flame turned green and James stepped inside. "Diagon Alley!" 

When James got there, he looked around and spotted Remus. He looked pale and was very thin. _He's always like this before the full moon. He shouldn't even be out now._ "Hey, Moony!" James yelled out to his second best friend. 

"Hey Prongs!" Remus answered back. 

James ran up to Remus. "It's good to see ya! I've been like so bored." 

"Tell me about it! Since Padfoot is on vacation, I've been moping around." 

"My parents actually think that Padfoot on vacation is good for me," whispered James. "Because now, I'm like all quiet." 

"Oh, well, I wouldn't blame them," said Remus with a grin. 

"Hey! Moony you're supposed to be on my side! You said yourself that you were bored!" 

"I'm just joking with you, Prongs," said Remus, patting James on the back. "Just joking." 

"You're in a good mood to be joking, especially at a time like this." 

Remus looked down. "I had to buy my supplies today. After my transformation, I'll be too weak and tired," Remus whispered to James. 

"All right, but I'm looking out for you, ok?" 

Remus smiled. "Thanks Prongs." 

"No problem Moony." 

The two Marauders then went off looking for supplies. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Lily Evans arrived at Diagon Alley. They had used the brick wall to enter Diagon Alley by touching a specific brick by the tip of her wand three times. It opened and she entered. There she met one of her friends, Arabella Figg. "Hey Bella! Over here!" yelled Lily waving her hand. 

"Hey Lily!" 

"C'mon, let's go to Flourish and Blotts. I wanna see if there is anything new," said Lily excitedly. 

Arabella put her hands on her hips. "Lily Evans. You're not trying to find hexes to curse James Potter, are you?" 

"No, Bella! I would _never_ do that!" Lily said in her most innocent voice. 

"Oh, Lily. Get over it. You know that James Potter likes you! Why don't you go out with him?" 

"No, Bella. I can't just go out with him because he's...cute." 

"See? You even like him back!" 

"Nah. I would die before I go out with James Potter. I mean, sure. He's cute, but those annoying friends of his, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Except Remus. He's sweet...most of the time." 

Arabella laughed. "Nice one Lily. C'mon let's go." 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Remus noticed that James was looking out for somebody. He automatically knew it was Lily Evans. "Prongs, when are you going to give up?" 

"Give up what Moony?" 

"Give up trying to make Lily Evans like you." 

"Well, I like her." 

"I know that already Prongs," Remus said in a dull voice, remembering the times James had said that already. 

"Well, I'm kinda hoping that, I'll...askherouththisyear." 

"What? I can never understand your mumbling Prongs. And I think that's for a very good reason." 

"I wanna...ask her out this year." 

Remus burst out laughing. "C'mon, stop it," said an annoyed James. 

But Remus didn't stop. "Prongs, do you know the odds of getting Lily Evans to go out with you?" 

James didn't answer. "A million to one," said Remus to fill up the silence. 

"Ha ha, very funny Moony." 

"If Sirius were here, he would be making up worse stuff," smiling. 

Remus and James went off towards Flourish and Blotts. They walked into the enormous bookstore and went looking for their school books. While trying to find The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6) by Miranda Goshawk, he spotted Lily Evans. Her red hair was radiant, and her green eyes were bright, outshining the other eyes. James immediately walked towards Lily. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Lily, who was looking at the book, Curses and Countercurses for the Friends and the Enemies by Cheryl Nemesis, noticed someone coming toward her. He had messy back jet hair, and brown eyes hidden behind black rimmed glasses. _Great, James Potter. Well, Lily, time to put up the 'I hate you' act again._ James made his way toward Lily and stopped in front of her. "Hello Lily, and how gorgeous you look today." 

Lily, though touched by his comment, shook it off. "Well, if it isn't James Potter. Why don't you look up a curse in this book to do it on me, so I don't have to go through this torture. Or, why don't you get Sirius and let him put the Jelly-legs jinx on me, so you can catch me again like last year?" 

James beamed at the memory. "Ok, but this time I have to use Remus. Oy Moony! Come here!" 

"James, I only meant it as a joke!" 

"See, I obey someone called Lily Evans because she is the most beautiful girl in the world and I, would like to show you my love for you." 

Everyone in the store went, "Awwwwww." 

Lily knew she was blushing at James's statement. Then suddenly, her legs felt wobbly. She lost her balance and then fell. She felt someone catch her and she saw that he was smiling down at her. James Potter had a 'victory' grin on his face and lifted Lily up slowly. Lily then had an idea. "My beautiful knight! How can I ever repay you?" Lily tried to say this without saying it sarcastically. 

"My beautiful princess! A kiss will do the trick!" 

"Ok, anything for my brave knight!" 

James leaned towards her. Lily started to, too, but before hand, she had placed a cushioning charm on the floor. James was coming closer and closer. Then Lily stepped out of the way and James crashed down on the floor where the cushioning charm was. Lily crouched down and kissed James on the cheek and then whispered, "The day I kiss you on the lips, is the day I fall in love with you. So you'll have to charm me better than ever, if you ever want that to happen." Lily stood up, walked to where Arabella was standing and gave a very big grin. Arabella grinned back and they left the store. 

James stood up as Remus made his way over. "Prongs are you ok? What did she say?" 

James had this dreamy look on his face and was smiling broadly and didn't bother to answer Remus's question. Until Remus yelled, "Rictusempra!" Remus hit James with a tickling charm, and hoped this would bounce James out of his dreamworld. When Remus muttered the counter-curse, James stood again and said to Remus, "She said, ' The day I kiss you on the lips is the day we fall in love. So you'll have to charm me better than ever, if you ever want that to happen.' I'm gonna charm her so bad, I bet you, I'll marry her someday." 

"Now, that, is impossible." 

"Just watch me Moony. Just watch me." 

The boys quickly paid for their books and James left the store smiling. 

(Author's Note: Sorry if I made Lily too mean or something, but hey, this is sorta a love/hate story and I've seen Lily do meaner things than that in other L/J love/hate stories. 

So, Pleze R&R, ok? Thankies!) 


	2. Telling Close Friends, Funny Letters, an...

Hi peeps. If you haven't heard, the 22 year old singer/actress Aaliyah and 8 others died in a plane crash on 8/26/01 on Saturday night. Remember always in our hearts: Aaliyah. Here's Chapter Two. Pleze R&R! Thanx! 

Disclaimer: None belongs to me, it all belongs to the talented Miss J.K. Rowling. 

Chapter Two: Telling Close Friends, Funny Letters, and the Hogwarts Express 

James returned home with his supplies later that afternoon. He went up to his room to write a letter to Sirius, saying what happened in Flourish and Blotts and other things. He finished the letter and sent it off with his owl. As soon the owl was out of sight, another one appeared. He recognized the owl, and realized it was from Tara. He read the letter. _Wow, great. Now this girl also goes to my school. What else is new?_ He wrote a longer letter this time. He sent it off, wondering when Sirius will get the letter. Or Tara. He laid on his bed, about to take a nap, when heard a loud bang. James went under the bed and came out when it was over. Areatha Potter came into the room, covered head to foot with soot. "I was cleaning the fireplace when a certain _friend_ came blasting into the room," she said, in a dangerous tone. 

James thought, _Who would be stupid enough to do that? Sirius._ "Uh, sorry Mom. I'm sure he didn't mean to." 

"Hey Prongs!" yelled Sirius from the living room. "I've got an endless supply of Dungbombs and Stink Pellets! Come check it out!" 

Areatha Potter turned her head towards James. "James Daniel Potter, how dare you..." 

James endured her screaming and shouting. James tried to tune it out as best as possible, but had no luck. When she was done, Sirius came into the room smiling. James shot Sirius a 'killer look'. "Hello Sirius. Next time you decide to pop up in our house, do tell us when, ok?" said Areatha, trying to say it as calm as possible. 

"Ok, Mrs. Potter. I'm sorry." Then Sirius flashed her his biggest smile. She smiled back and whispered to James, "You know, he's said that several times and he still hasn't kept any of them. You should tell him that the only reason I don't tell his parents is because of his smile." 

James nodded and she left. James turned to Sirius. "You got my letter?" Sirius nodded and went over to James's bed. He dumped all the little 'tricks' on the bed. He turned to look at James and said, "I hope I'm still invited here." 

"Keep arriving like that, and you won't be here much longer," said James. 

"Sorry," said Sirius sheepishly. 

James went over to his drawer and pulled out his letters from Tara. "I gotta tell you something. I got these letters from this girl named Tara. She wrote to me saying she was bored and stuff, so she decided to write to me. Here." James handed Sirius the letters and he read them. "She sounds cool. Any idea who she is?" 

James shook his head no. Sirius asked, "Do you wanna know?" 

"No, I don't. I sorta want some suspense." 

"Uh, James? Are you forgetting some other pretty, little red-headed crush?" 

"No, I haven't Sirius. I probably have more of a chance with Lily then with Tara." 

"Well, you told me what happened in Diagon Alley in the letter. So, you think you even have a chance with her?" 

"Well, I have to charm her. And good too. Or else, she'll never be mine!" said James in a dreamy voice. 

Sirius shook his head and snorted. "You're lovesick." 

James put on his 'evil grin'. "All right, this is what we're gonna do this year..." 

~*~*~*~*~ 

"I'm never going near James Potter again." 

"Oh, why not Lily?" 

"Because of what I said to him, Bella!" 

"What did you say?" 

"I said 'The day I kiss you on the lips is the day I fall in love with you.' I didn't mean to say that, I just said it..." Lily said, trailing off. 

"Well, I think you like him. I mean if you really hated him, you probably wouldn't have said that." 

"Even if I did like him, I wouldn't tell him." 

"Well, you're gonna have a hard time avoiding him. He's in your house, your year, and in your classes." 

Lily groaned. "Promise me Bella, if he asks me out, then you have to curse him, or rather kill me." 

"Lily, I'm not gonna kill you. Or curse James. He's too cute and funny." 

"Bella, you need to learn about the meaning of sarcasm." 

"Ok, I'll meet you in about an hour to go over to your house, ok?" said Arabella, checking her watch. 

"Yeah, see you later." 

Both girls said their goodbyes and went their separate ways home. 

When Lily arrived home, she noticed that Hazel was already there, with another note from Daniel. She closed the door, not wanting to be disturbed, and hastily opened the letter and read: 

_Dear Tara,_

__

_Well, if you wanna know more about me, I play quidditch. Yes, I'm quidditch obsessed._

_My strongest subject is transfiguration, and let's just say that I'm not doing as well on charms as I do transfiguration. If you're a 'charms' person, I'm gonna have to break the promise and find you. _

__

_I don't have any brothers and sisters, so I'm an only child. My parents, are, let's just say, are...accustomed to my trouble-making. And I'm not surprised. Ok, enough about me. What about you? Tell me your stuff about yourself, or else you aren't holding up your part of the deal. I'll have to hunt you down. (I'm kidding)_

__

_Daniel_

__

_P.S. What house are you in?_

_P.P.S. If you're in Gryffindor, you're in my house._

_P.P.P.S. How are you at flying?_

_P.P.P.P.S. Sorry if I'm annoying you._

_P.P.P.P.P.S. Ok, another thing you should know: I'm annoying!_

__

__Lily was laughing by now and she was rolling around on the floor, clutching her stomach. There were tears in her eyes. She got up and placed the letter in her drawer with the others. She also wrote a longer letter this time, adding her little bits of humor too. 

_Dear Daniel (otherwise known as the annoying, quidditch playing, transfiguration doing, only child person)_

__

_Sorry I had to do that. After I read your letter I was rolling around on the floor with tears in my eyes. Just to let you know. I'm in Gryffindor also. You didn't have to go into those P.S.'s and P.P.S.'s you know? Of course you knew that. You were just trying to annoy me, like you said. Unfortunately, I am a 'charms' person. And I have to catch up on my transfiguration, or else McGonagall will kill me. And if you hunt me down, you won't be able to because I'll hunt you down first. _

__

_I'm not a flying person, and I've really never flown a broomstick ever since 1st year. It's probably because I'm muggle-born. I have one sister named...let's just say you don't wanna know her, so I'm not giving you her name. I'm not a goody-two shoes, and I'll kill anyone who gets in my way. Do I sound scary? If I do, then tell me. But, hey, you were the one who wanted to know about me. Write back soon._

__

_Tara_

__

_P.S. You know what the weird thing is? We're in the same house and same classes, and you're gonna be wondering who wrote this._

__

_P.P.S. Yes, now I'm doing this to annoy you._

_P.P.P.S. Well, I can't go on forever. That's the good part._

_P.P.P.P.S. Now I can't think of anything else to say._

_P.P.P.P.P.S. I'll leave now. Bye._

Lily smiled and sent it off. She checked her watch. _Hmm...Bella's going to be here any minute._ She straightened up her room and made a mental note to tell Bella about the letters from Daniel. The doorbell rang and Lily rushed to get it. Arabella was at the door. "Listen Bella, I have to tell you something. C'mon, let's go to my room." 

"What are you guys talking about?" 

"Go away Petunia, you wouldn't understand anything we say anyway, so back off." 

Both girls rushed up the stairs into Lily's room, with Petunia following close behind. Lily shut the door and could hear Petunia yelling, "Mom! Lily won't let me join her friend!" 

Lily rolled her eyes and went to her drawer. She took out some letters and handed them to Bella. "Here, I uh, was bored one day, so I wrote this letter to someone, and they wrote back." 

Arabella read each letter, and laughed a lot when she came to the last one. "He's sounds nice, and funny too! And he's in our house? And our school?" 

Lily nodded. "He used Daniel because that's his middle name. He told me so in his first letter." 

Arabella grinned. "Ooh! James has some competition!" 

"Bella, don't be silly. I barely know Daniel. We've only like exchanged a couple of letters. Don't get carried away." 

"Oh, I won't. Are you gonna tell James?" 

"No way! If he finds out I have another admirer, then he'll kill Daniel!" said Lily sarcastically. 

"Lily, he's not that desperate to get you." 

"Yes he is! Did you see what happened in Flourish and Blotts? He like wanted to kiss me just for catching me!" 

"Right Lily, sure. If I would've known, you have a crush on James as badly as he has on you." 

"I'm soooo tired of this subject," Lily said in a dull voice. "Let's talk about something else besides James and the Morons and Daniel." 

"All right," said Arabella in a disappointed voice. "Oh! Did you hear that Frank Longbottom is thinking of becoming an..." 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Steam flew out of the Hogwarts Express as it was about to go. James had gotten Lily's letter was laughing as hard as Lily was with his letter. _At least she has a sense of humor._ But he never got the chance to write a reply back, since he was so busy to go over to Sirius's house, who would then take him and Sirius to King Cross's Station at Platform 9 and 3/4. Lily was also busy during the remainder of the week, and wasn't surprised that Daniel didn't write a reply back. The week before Hogwarts starts is always the busiest week. 

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter found each other and boarded the train. They got a compartment to themselves (the last one at the end of the train) and as soon they got in, Remus went down to sleep. Peter was complaining why Remus was always sleeping. James and Sirius scowled at Peter, who shut his mouth immediately. _He can be so stupid sometimes. I wonder why we let him join us,_ thought James. James changed into his robes and placed the prefect badge it. Sirius was surprised he didn't become one and asked James. "Padfoot, if they made you a prefect, I would actually die from shock." 

Sirius laughed at this comment and said, "If you were to die from shock, then who would take care of poor Lily?" 

James grinned, but said nothing. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Outside, Lily and Arabella were struggling to get on the train. "If Petunia didn't hold us up," said Lily panting. "We would've been there an hour ago!" 

They finally succeeded getting onto the train. They went from compartment to compartment, but they were all filled. They finally came to the last compartment. They discovered James and Sirius caught in a game of Exploding Snap, Remus sleeping, and Peter watching. Lily was frantic. "C'mon Bella, there's probably another compartment. Let's go check!" 

But Arabella had already sat down to watch the game. Groaning, Lily sat down next to the only other available seat, next to James. She also watched the game and when it ended, Sirius was the winner. "Ha! I beat you!" Sirius then started doing some little victory dance, grabbed Arabella and they started dancing. James, who was covered in soot, was laughing, along with Peter and Lily, which woke up Remus. "Uh, do you mind? I'm trying to catch a little shut eye." 

"Sorry Moony." 

Remus nodded and went back to sleep. James cleaned himself up and scooted closer to Lily. She didn't notice and before she turned her head around, he quickly pecked her on the cheek. She shrieked and stood up clutching her cheek, where he had kissed her. "That's for letting me fall in Flourish and Blotts," said James who was grinning ear to ear. 

"James Potter! I'm going to get you for this!" yelled Lily. 

"Nah, you're not going to Lily," said James in a casual tone. "You love me too much." 

Lily glared at James and went to sit on the other side of the compartment next Arabella. Arabella was laughing, as so was Sirius. Sirius gave James a high-five and went to sit next to James. 

Arabella whispered to Lily, "I hope Daniel is like this too." 

Lily sighed and replied, "I hope not. I hope he's not like the messy-haired freak sitting across from me," she said, loudly enough so James would hear. 

James heard the comment and said, "Awwwww, Lily! I'm so touched!" James then began to wipe his eyes, as if he was crying. Arabella, Sirius, Peter, James, and a puffy-eyed Remus laughed at this comment, except Lily. She turned her head away to look out the window. She was smiling. 

(Author's Note- Ok, I tried to make this chapter as long as possible, so I hope you guys like it! Also, for people who know my other stories like: Lost in the Marauder's Time and I Never Knew I'd Be With You, Chapter 4 is up for both of those stories. Ok, pleze R&R! Thankies!!) 

Miss Park Avenue 


	3. A New Year and Exploding Cauldrons

I'M VERY SORRY FOR NOT CONTINUING THIS FIC FOR SO LONG! School, other fics, school, activites, and school are have prevented me from writing. I was attempting to finish Lost in the Marauder's Time to get it out of the way...but I have no luck. Writer's block. blah. :( But, I'm continuing this again! Yay! I'm trying to make this as long as possible, because I can't go online for long. (homework) *mumbling* stupid teachers, they give so much... 

Disclaimer: None belongs to me, it all belongs to the talented Miss J.K. Rowling. 

Chapter Three: A New Year and Exploding Cauldrons 

The rest of the train ride went smoothly, and they arrived in front of the dark Hogwarts castle. The Marauders went into the Great Hall and sat down at the enormous Gryffindor table. Lily and Arabella sat between James and Sirius. Arabella was talking to Sirius, when James turned to Lily. She was surveying around the table. That reminded him of Tara. He then also started looking around, but no luck. The Sorting Hat started to sing, so he reluctantly pulled his eyes away from his classmates. 

When it finished its song, Professor Dumbledore stood up. The Hall instantly grew quiet. He spoke. "Welcome everybody to a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The audience applauded with vigor. Dumbledore continued. "I would like to make one specific announcement. As always, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden, hence the name." He glanced in Sirius's and James's direction. "Now, let the banquet begin!" The golden plates and goblets then filled themselves with food and drinks galore. Everyone gobbled down the warm and hearty foods that were right there in front of them. Sirius was helping himself to thirds and fourths when he noticed James wasn't eating much. He was too busy glancing up and down the Gryffindor table. He gave James a nudge and said with his mouth full, "Still lookin' fo 'er?" 

"Yeah," said James, discouraged. "Do you have anyone in mind?" 

Sirius took a quick glance up and down the table. "No, I dun tink dey match Tara." 

James scowled playfully. "Sirius, didn't your mother teach you any manners?" 

"Whaa? What am I doin' wrong?" 

"Disgracing yourself," said Remus, who overheard James's remark. 

"Mr. Potter? I'm here to inform you that the new password is 'Pixie Dust.' I will also tell Miss Evans as well," said the head of the Gryffindor house, Professor McGonagall. 

"Yes, Professor." 

The professor was about to leave when she turned around abruptly and said, "Oh, and Mr. Black, try to keep your food, _inside_ your mouth? The last thing we need right now is a food-spitting contest." 

James and Remus chuckled as Sirius replied, "Yes ma'am." 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Meanwhile, a few seats away... 

"Bella? Who do you think it is?" 

Arabella groaned. "Lil', can we please just concentrate on eating right now? I'm starving. Besides, you have the whole year to figure it out." 

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lily shuddered. "But the suspense is killing me..." 

"Miss Evans?" 

Lily swung around in her seat. It was Professor McGonagall. "The password this year is 'Pixie Dust.' I trust you will remember to tell the new Gryffindors the new password?" 

"Yes, Ma'am." 

"Good. I have already told Mr. Potter." 

Professor McGonagall swished away from the Gryffindor table to join the staff. Lily turned back around and said in mock surprise," Pixie Dust? What kind of a password is Pixie Dust?" 

Arabella laughed. "The passwords just keep getting weirder and weirder..." 

~*~*~*~*~ 

After the feast was over, all the students rushed up to their dormitories. James met up with Lily and guided the first-years to their dorms. "Okay, the new password is 'Pixie Dust!" yelled James. 

With that, the portrait of the Fat Lady opened, and the Gryffindors filed into the common room. "All right, first-year boys up the left. Girls, the right!" Everybody filed up to the dorms until only James and Lily were left in the common room. James turned to Lily. "Well, Miss Evans, a good job well done." 

Lily rolled her eyes. "Please James, I'm not in the mood for a bad bashing of words you call flirting." 

"Oh, but you said so yourself. Remember? In Flourish and Blotts?" 

Lily recalled the event. She spoke sarcastically. "So, you're gonna try and win me over, hmm?" 

"What, you don't think I could do it?" exclaimed James. 

"Well, we'll see. We'll see," said Lily grinning. They both headed toward the stairs to their dormitories. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

James laid in bed unable to sleep. He kept thinking bout Lily. And Tara. He then suddenly remembered that he never replied back to Tara. He got up as quietly as possible and opened his bedside cabinet. He pulled out his wand, a piece of parchment, and a quill. 

"_Lumos,_" he whispered as silently as possible. His wand lit up enough to glance at what he was writing. He wrote: 

_Dear Tara,_

__

_Sorry I haven't been able to write. I was so busy with school and stuff. What did ya think of the feast today? One of my friends practically stuffed his face with food until every word he spoke was not understandable. And I think that was for a good reason. But, to tell you the truth, I was looking for you. I know I shouldn't have, but I was too curious. I bet you were looking also. But, I promise I'll try not to find out who you are._

__

_Well, what classes are you taking? I'm taking, besides the required ones, Divination (the stupidest class I've taken so far) and Care of Magical Creatures (an okay class, but I wish we were handling more dangerous creatures). I can't wait for transfiguration tomorrow. Wonder what we're doing. In History of Magic though, you don't even have to guess what we're doing. The window is more interesting than Professor Binns. Too bad we still have to take it. Well, it's late, so I'll see ya tomorrow. (even though I don't know who you are) _

__

_Daniel_

James's eyes were getting heavy, so he quietly slipped out to the Owlery using the Invisibility Cloak, and attached the letter to the owl's leg. James had a sudden thought and whispered to the wise bird, "Don't deliver this until the morning. I don't think she'll enjoy getting a letter at two in the morning. The owl gave an agreeing hoot and closed its eyes, asleep in minutes. James tiptoed back to his 4-poster bed and laid down, took his glasses off, and finally closed his eyes. 

"Sent a letter to her, eh?" asked a drowsy Sirius. 

"Mmhmm." 

~*~*~*~*~ 

The next morning went about as usual. Students sat at their house table gobbling down on breakfast. Lily was helping herself to some scrambled eggs, when the daily flood of owls arrived. Owls darted in and out, dropping their packages or letters and heading straight to the Owlery. Suddenly, an owl dropped a piece of parchment on her head, and flew out. She darted the parchment off her head and by just glancing at the handwriting, she immediately knew who it was from. "Bella! Bella!" Lily said in a hushed whisper. "It's from _him..._" 

"Ooh! Let's read it-" 

"No, not here. Daniel could be here..." 

"So what? Hello? This is Daniel-" 

"Exactly. It'll ruin the whole thing. Look, we'll just read it later, ok?" 

Arabella groaned in disappointment. "Oh, all right. But as soon as we have time, I'm ripping it open." Araballa thought for a minute. "Wait, he's writing to you, and not me. So why are you so calm about this?" 

Lily repiled, as if stating the obvious, "Because I have some self control." But she knew deep inside she wanted to drastically open the letter to see what he wrote. 

Professor McGonagall handed out their course schedules to the Gryffindors. "We have Double Herbology with Hufflepuffs," stated Remus. "And...oh no. Double Potions with Slytherins." Sirius had a look of disgust on his face. "It's the same thing year after year. I don't think I can stand it anymore." 

"Same here Sirius," agreed James. "It's too bad that Professor Monters is mean in a nice way..." 

"OPEN YOUR BOOKS TO PAGE 6 BEFORE I HEX YOU INTO OBLIVION!" 

The Gryffindors and Slytherins hastily opened their books before their hot-tempered professor could hex them. 

"Now, I want you to set this up precisely, or else, some of you will never see your heads again." 

Peter gulped. 

"All right, this potion is very difficult to brew. It is a complicated process and will take time, so you'll be keeping your cauldrons in a safe-keeping storage area..." 

Lily had her book open, but she wasn't listening. Her eyes appeared dreamily, as if she was going to fall into a graceful sleep any minute. She was dreaming about Daniel. _Why does he have an effect on me like this? _She thought. _I'm not paying attention in Potions. Well, I never pay attention in his class anyway. I knew that he's right here in this classroom. And I have no idea who he is. I wonder if it's Sirius playing a prank on me._ She glanced over at him. He was whispering something, and pointing his wand at Severus Snape's head. In green letters, the message: Unwashable Hair Mess was visible on his head. Remus was trying to contain his laughter by putting his hand over his mouth. Lily chuckled in her head. _Nah, can't be him. He's too...hyper. And Remus is too...sweet to do that._ She peered in the other direction and saw Frank Longbottom pass notes to Sarah Morin. _Frank's nice, but he probably likes Sarah._ She looked ahead of her and there sat James Potter. _Ugh, no way....he's too stupid._ Arabella glancing at Lily, noticed she was still scanning around. _She's so stubborn_ her friend thought. 

Unknown to Lily and Arabella, James Potter was searching around as well. _Maybe it's one of Sirius's pranks._ He glimpsed at Narcissa Medina kept turning around to smile at Lucius Malfoy. _Disgusting._ He looked around and almost burst out laughing when he saw the back of Snape's head. _Slimy git. Knows nothing about anything._ He then found himself gazing at Lily. The way her hair was a bright red, and her face glowed. The way her small hands appeared so soft. The way- 

"Mr. Potter! I suggest you write the ingredients down," James's head snapped up. "Or else I'll be moving your object of affection to the other side of the classroom," the Professor continued. 

Everyone giggled. James looked down and blushed. Lily, however, was smiling. _So, I can make James Potter blush? I can use this for something._

James quickly wrote down the ingredients as told. "Now, I have selected your partners," the Potions Master announced. "Do not groan when I read them out, or I will take 50 points from each one I hear. I will come around later to see your work. So it was important that you'd have paid attention. Anyone who didn't...will serve detention with me." He cleared his throat. "Narcissa Medina and Lucius Malfoy. Arabella Figg and Sirius Black. James Potter and Lily Evans..." 

James and Lily made eye contact with each other. James's expression was full of joy, while Lily's was a penetrating glare. Arabella and Sirius came over. "Hey Lil', have fun with James!" she said in a singing voice. 

"Thanks for being my friend Bella," Lily said, in a monotone voice. 

"Oh, no problem. I hope though Sirius and I don't blow up the cauldron like last time though. I can't afford another rash." 

Sirius went up to James and whispered, "Don't kill her okay? She's too good-looking." 

"Shut up Padfoot." 

James winked at Sirius. Sirius winked back. They left and James faced Lily again. "So, my fair lady, what shall we do?" 

"Oh, be quiet." She sighed and muttered, "Freak." Walking over to the experiment table, she said, "Just do the experiment, and it'll be over with." 

"Oh, but my sweet, we must spend much time together-" 

"James Potter, one more word outta your mouth, and I swear," she held up a knife. "Bye-bye tongue!" 

"Okay, okay, okay!" James held his hands up in defense. "Sheesh Lil'! I was only-" 

"And don't say joking. You act like that all the time," she said, interrupting. "C'mon, let's do this." 

Lily suddenly realized that she didn't know how to do the experiment. _Oh no. I'm gonna have to ask the moron for help._ "Oh, James?" she managed in her sweetest voice. "Can you be a sweetie and tell me what to do?" 

"Oh...you weren't paying attention?" 

"Um, no. So, what do we do here?" 

"Wait. I'll tell you what to do, if...you'll hug me and call me 'honey' in front of Sirius, Remus, and Bella." 

Lily's eyes widened. "Okay, you're joking right? I mean, seriously." 

James nodded his head from side to side. 

"James! How can you do this to me? I mean, c'mon, please? I don't wanna do that-" 

"Or, I could not help you, and can be caught by Professor Monters for not paying attention in class and get detention." 

Lily weighed her options. _I guess I could say honey and do a hug. I mean it could be worse..."_

"Or you could kiss me-" 

"Okay! I'll hug and say 'honey.' But, only once! I'm not even going to think of doing it again." 

James grinned. Lily rolled her eyes, and sighed. "So, what do we do now?" 

"Well, first add 9 spider legs. Then we mix in some nightshade." 

"All right, here, and there's the nightshade." 

"Everything going all right?" 

James and Lily looked up to see Professor Monters eyeing them. "Oh, we're doing fine Professor. We're just adding the nightshade. And we're about to add the daisy roots." 

"Hmm. Very well. Continue." 

James beamed in triumph and Lily smiled. "Um, thanks James." 

"You're very welcome." 

James and Lily worked quietly side by side until Lily had to go to the other side of the table to get an ingredient. Neither of them heard a plunk in their cauldron. Lily then moved to place the last ingredient in the cauldron. "Okay, here's the shrivelfig." 

"Drop it in then." 

Lily dropped it in, and smoke started to steam out. Everyone's attention shifted to James and Lily table. The potion started to spew in every direction. James ducked under the table, while parts of the potion hit Lily's arm, making it burn. James yanked Lily under the table while she sobbed. "My god, Lily! What happened?" 

"It hurts, bloody hell it hurts!" Lily moaned as she clutched her arm. 

"What's happened? What's going on?" the suddenly frantic professor asked. 

"Lily's hurt sir. Should I take her to the hospital wing?" 

"Yes, yes take her. Carry her if you have to!" shouted the Potions Master over the cauldron noises. 

"Um, okay. Uh..." James stuttered. _Lily's not gonna like this...._

"Okay, Lily," he said, pointing to her uninjured arm. "Put this arm around my neck." 

She did as she was told and then found herself being lifted up by James Potter. And James was right. Lily didn't like it. 

"OH MY GOD! JAMES POTTER! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT! I SWEAR WHEN I GET A HOLD OF YOU I'M GONNA...." 

Lily Evans continued to screech in James's ear. James thought he was going to be temporarily deaf by the time he made it to the hospital wing. He walked through the halls trying extremely hard to tune out Lily's yells. People in the halls saw and whispered to each other. _Okay James, you can make it, _he thought to himself._ You can- _"PUT"- _make-_ "ME"- _it.- _"DOWN!" 

"Lily!" James stopped abruptly. "I'm trying to get you to the hospital wing! Not throw you in the lake with the giant squid! Now, will you please stop screaming in my ear?" 

She stopped yelling and looked at James's face. She saw his usual cheerfulness, but behind it was concern for her arm. She nodded and they continued on. Lily while being carried, had thoughts. _I never thought that I'd be carried through the halls by James Potter of all people. Maybe...he's not as bad as I thought._

Unfortunately, when James kicked the hospital wing door open, the pain in Lily's arm came back full blast and was soon moaning and shouting. Madame Promfrey came towards a tortured young man and a never ending, howling banshee. "What happened to Miss Evans?" 

James scoffed. "Don't ask." 

He placed Lily on the bed, and but she didn't stop screaming. 

"James...it really, really hurts!" 

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. What could happen when I'm around?" James flashed the famous grin. 

Lily rolled her eyes, but smiled back. But it was quickly wiped away when the pain came back. 

"Here Miss Evans," said a rushed Madame Promfrey. "I'm going to pour on some Burn-B-Gone. It'll sting, so brace yourself." 

Lily immediately grabbed James's hand and squeezed. He squeezed back. The nurse poured on the potion, making Lily shake. She would've yelled out, but a certain person held her hand and squeezed it when needed most. It seemed to go on forever, but it was finally done. "Okay! Miss Evans, you are back to normal, though try to avoid substances touching that area of the burn. It's still very sensitive." 

Lily nodded. She stood up, wincing a little, and went up to James. She leaned in towards his ear and whispered, "Thank you." 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Okay guys! I think that's my longest chapter ever! YAY! I hope you like it so far! And I also hope you don't think that Lily is all girly. Just imagine if...a kid who eats worms picked you up. Never mind. Bad example. Remember, if you want to sign up for the "How it All Began" chapter mailing list, then leave your e-mail address when you review, and readers who are already on the list, please remember to review at FANFICTION.NET! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I LUV YOU PEEPS! If you want to, check out the other fic that's been keeping me from this one, Lost in the Marauder's Time.

Miss Park Avenue 


	4. I'd Never Thought I'd See an Evan Kiss a...

Author's Note: Hey peeps! Guess what I'm doing? Writing! YAY! *waves flag* Okay, obviously you're not excitied as I am. I've started a Yahoo group on this fic so you can receive updates easier. Here are the URLs to join: HAB: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HABGroup/ 

LMT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LMTGroup/ 

Enjoy the chapter, and pleze R&R! Thanks! 

****

****

**Title: How it All Began**

**Author: Miss Park Avenue**

**Rating/Couple: PG, Lily/James**

**Disclaimer:** **None belongs to me, it all belongs to the talented Miss J.K. Rowling**

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**Chapter Four: I'd Never Thought I'd See an Evan Kiss a Potter**

Lily got a sudden, unexpected urge to do something daring. She then stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the cheek. She waited for his reaction. James stood frozen, eyes wide. He got right to his senses and yelled out loud, "YES! YES! OH MY GOD, YES!" James got down on his knees and waved his arms in the air. "LILY EVANS KISSED ME!" 

"James! Shut up!" shouted Lily over James's voice. "I don't want you blabbering all over Hogwarts that I kissed you on the cheek! And besides," Lily paused, "I only kissed you because you helped me to the hospital wing." 

James kept his wide grin on though. "You still kissed me, and that changes everything." 

Lily suddenly groaned, noticing her mistake and was thinking it was going to go down in Hogwarts, A History. James was still screaming, and suddenly Arabella, Remus, and Sirius burst through the door. They saw James on the ground with the biggest smile anyone had ever seen. "Hey guys," James said in a happy tone. Arabella cleared her throat. "And girls," added James. Arabella returned to beaming. "The event that you have been all waiting for has happened..." James didn't happen to see Lily hide her face behind her hands. "Lily Evans kissed ME!" screamed James at the top of his lungs. 

Lily flinched, Arabella gasped, and Remus and Sirius went up to James and gave high-fives. Arabella was squealing with delight. "Oh my god Lil'! You kissed him! You actually kissed him!" 

"Bella, it's not a big deal...." 

"Oh yeah it is!" argued Arabella. "It proves that your relationship with James is growing...intimite," she finished with a giggle. 

Lily rolled her eyes, but she knew that this would not be forgotten. Sirius was laughing at the debate between Arabella and Lily. "Hey Lil'! I'd never thought I'd see the day when an Evan would kiss a Potter." 

"Oh, stuff it Sirius. I'm telling you, it's not a big-" 

"Oh I forgot," interrupted Remus. "It was Lucius and Narcissa! We saw them put something in your cauldron! We tried to tell you over the explosion, but I guess you and James had other plans." Remus winked at Lily. 

Arabella giggled again, and Lily sighed. _This is gonna be a long day._

~*~*~*~*~ 

During the entire day, James had an enormous never-ending grin plastered on his face. Lily had an annoyed expression on her face probably from the winks and whistles the other students kept giving after James _declared_ his secret relationship with Lily. Sirius, Remus, and Arabella helped James with the story that was going around. 

"...did you hear? Evans and Potter! What a weird couple..." 

"...I thought they would never get together. They look so adorable together..." 

"Yes, we will all be inviting you to the wedding. Yeah, you can be the flower girl, I guess-" 

Lily cleared her throat. "Sirius, when you're done spreading rumors about me and James, I'd like a word with you! Or, you can stop and not witness my violent rampage across the school!" 

The girls Sirius were talking to giggled. Sirius swallowed hard. Lily was glaring daggers at him. Sirius nodded meekly and quickly dashed down the other direction. Lily let out a huge sigh, and continued on her way to Care of Magical Creatures. She closed her eyes to relax them, until she bumped into someone. It was... 

"Honey! Back so soon?" 

Lily's face twisted into a fake smile. Painfully, she said, "Why yes, sweetheart! I just wanted to drop by and see that wonderful face of yours. Say, can I borrow you for a minute?" 

Before James noticed, he felt a tugging pain on his ear. "Ow! What are you-O-Owww! Lily!" 

Lily pulled James into the corner of the hall, still clasping on James's ear. "It hurts!" he whined. 

"_It hurts_," mocked Lily, as sarcastically as she could. "You know what hurts? Walking down the hall, watching fingers point at you hearing the names James and Lily. Lily and James. James and Lily together," Lily enunciated enough so he could understand. 

"Well, it wasn't my fault, you kissed me..." 

"I was just thanking you! Then you just go ahead and put it in the Daily Prophet-" 

"Okay, okay." James held his hands up. "I'll stop advertising our 'relationship', but-" 

"Yes, thank-" 

"But, did you forget? The little deal we made?" 

Lily's thoughts froze. "James, c'mon, I gave you a kiss-" 

"But you promised. You promised to hug me and say 'honey' in front of Sirius, Remus, and Arabella. And only in front of them. Not the whole house or school." 

Lily thought about it again. _Great, I kiss him, hug him, and call him 'honey.' What's the world coming to, honestly..._

~*~*~*~*~ 

Arabella, Sirius, and Remus were already at the dinner table when James and Lily came in. There were some whistles, but James kept his part of the deal and told everybody that the rumor wasn't real. Now it was Lily's turn. James sat down next to Remus and Lily joined James's other side. Sirius started the conversation. "Tomorrow is the Quidditch Match against Slytherin. Me and Remus got a bet going on." 

"What kind of bet?" asked James. 

"See, I bet Remus 10 galleons that you'd stay on your broom for no more than 20 minutes. Remus thinks you're not gonna last 10." 

James laughed. "Don't worry Remus. I'm gonna be fine." 

"Yeah well, make sure you stay on that broom cause if I lose this bet, then I'm out of money to buy more Zonko stuff," said Sirius, in a worried tone. 

Lily made her move. "But, honey," Lily managed to say without choking, "What if you do fall off that broom?" Then, Lily hesitated, and hugged James. She parted from him and managed to say, "I just couldn't bear to lose you if you fell off that broom and hurt yourself." 

Remus stared speechless at Lily. Lily glared at James. James grinned at Sirius. Arabella giggled at the scene going on. Everyone noticed the scene also, and turned back to whispering about the 'couple.' James smiled. Lily scoffed and turned back to her dinner, which was cold. "I feel tired Bella, I think I'll go to bed." 

"Ok, Lil'." She yelled out, "Good night!" as Lily was leaving the table. Sirius managed to scream, "Sweet dreams! If ya know what I'm talking about!" 

Lily sighed. _Great. Just what I need. A dose of Sirius's sarcasm to cheer me up._

She arrived at the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room, and mumbled the password to the Fat Lady. "Bad day honey?" 

Lily stifled a laugh. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." 

She stepped into the deserted common room. _I guess everyone's enjoying dinner. Except me._

She climbed up towards the girl's dormitories and laid on her four poster bed. She heard crinkling underneath and saw that it was a note from Daniel. She smiled widely. "At least something in my life went right today," she muttered. 

She opened the letter rapidly and read it. Chuckling at some of the comments, she ran to her night stand and pulled out some parchment. She replied: 

_Dear Daniel,_

__

_Yeah, I've been busy with packing for school too. But the feast was okay I guess. I also admit that I was trying to look for you. I hope you don't mind. I agree with you about Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. I really don't care what we do in Transfiguration. I have so much trouble in that class, it's like I'm not taking it at all. I can't wait for Charms though. That's my best class. I guess you already knew that._

__

_I can't believe it's our sixth year already, can you? I mean, one more year until we take our N.E.W.T.'s, one more year until we leave Hogwarts. I can't even think that thought. Have you thought about what you're going to branch into? I have no clue. My best guess is an Auror. I don't think we're supposed to worry about that until we actually reach our seventh and last year here. Ugh, I'm sorry I launched into a depressing subject just now. It's just I haven't been able to confess my true feelings to anyone in a long time. I've been so busy with school and other things, I guess I wasn't able to talk like this to anybody. I hope you don't mind being my personal diary here._

__

_Wow, I think this letter is the longest I've ever written. I have no life._

__

_Write back soon,_

_Lily_

Lily grinned at the letter, but then frowned at the closing. _Lily._ She reluctantly erased her name so it read: _Tara._ She raced up to the Owlery. Hazel gave her an affectionate nip when Lily handed her the note. "It's to Daniel. It shouldn't be a big thing." She watched as her owl flew out of the window. She turned away, not wanting to cheat and see where the owl was going. She headed quickly out of the Owlery back to the Gryffindor Common Room. She bumped into Bella. "Hey Lil', where have ya been?" 

"Oh, I just went for a walk. That's all." 

"Hmm, tired are ya? Well, I would be if I was chased by the most popular guy at school." 

Lily rolled her eyes. "Bella, seriously. You need to get a life." 

~*~*~*~*~ 

James snickered as Sirius told him his new prank on Snape. "But, in order for me to do it, you have to stay on your broom tomorrow." 

"Ahh, don't worry about me Padfoot. I won't fall. I didn't last time." 

"Yeah, but you forgot the 452 other times." 

James chortled. "G'night Padfoot." 

"G'night Prongs." Sirius replied with a yawn. 

A tired James could now hear Sirius's snoring in the background. James was about to close his eyes when something dropped on his nose. He picked up the parchment and automatically knew who it was. As silently as he could, he opened the letter and took out his wand, whispering, "_Lumos._" 

As he read the letter, different thoughts ran through his head. _Hmm...I have no idea what I'm gonna be after Hogwarts. But, she's got the same idea as me. An Auror. _He continued reading and smiled at the last couple of sentences. _Well, neither do I. My life consists of only Quidditch._

James then quietly opened up his nightstand, snatched parchment and a quill, and went down to the common room. He suspected it was deserted by now. He went through the empty room and sat down in his favorite chair. He wrote: 

_Dear Tara,_

__

_Wow. Good question. I have no idea either. But, you and me have something in common. An Auror. That was the only job that crossed my mind. But, I honestly don't know either. Even though it is a depressing subject, don't be sorry about that because if you hadn't mentioned it, I probably would have asked myself, "What is my job?" at the age of thirty. But, I think you're right; waiting to decide until 7th year. Talk about last minute things._

__

_Personal diary, eh? Well, I like being trustworthy. I won't blab your secrets to anyone. Trust me. *wink, wink* I wonder, can you be my personal diary too?_

__

_No life? Well, I wouldn't say that. I mean, even though you spend all your time writing to me and not caring about other things in life such as friends and exercise I don't think you don't have a life. Just kidding. Hey, I have no life either remember? It only consists of Quidditch and nothing else._

__

_Write back,_

_Daniel_

__

__Lily laughed at the last couple of lines. She just received the letter right after she was about to go to bed. She replied back quickly: 

_Dear Daniel,_

__

_I got your letter pretty fast. We really don't live far from each other. Wouldn't it be so funny if you and me were writing to each other and we lived right next to each other? Oh, yeah, I forgot, we do. *peeks around* Don't worry. I won't cheat. Yet._

__

_Oh no...you're not one of those highly obsessed, motivated, all devoted Quidditch players are you? If you are...then good luck on the game tomorrow. I really don't understand how people can play that sport. How can you not be worried about not falling off and breaking your leg or spraining your ankle. Seriously, you can never, ever, ever get me on a broom. Don't even try it. It's not a pretty experience. _

__

_You don't have to be my personal diary if you don't want to. I'll be yours if the offer still stands. I also like the feeling of being trustworthy. It makes me feel like I have a purpose in this world besides being chased by guys and doing schoolwork._

__

_Well, good luck tomorrow!_

__

_Tara_

__

__A couple of moments later in the boys' dormitory... 

_Dear Tara,_

__

_Wow. You know, at the rate we're getting these letters, people might think we actually live next to each other. Funny how that is. Oh well. Thanks for wishing me good luck by the way. Hopefully, we can win tomorrow against Slytherin, so I can watch Snape humiliate himself in front of the whole school. Filthy, oily, nasty son of a..._

__

_I'll gladly be your personal diary, if you'll be mine. Boys usually don't keep diaries if you know what I'm talking about. Well, I have to go to sleep now. Quidditch tomorrow. I hope I don't fall! GRYFFINDORS RULE!_

__

_Daniel_

~*~*~*~*~ 

The following morning was great for James Potter. It was bright out, with a slight breeze. Perfect Quidditch weather. He went down to the Great Hall with his broomstick and sat down next to his teammates, placing his Nimbus 1500 on the empty chair next to him. He placed eggs and bacon on his plate and ate silently, concentrating on the upcoming game. He didn't notice Severus Snape and two other Slytherins came over and tap him on the shoulder. "You think you Gryffindors are gonna win?" Snape scoffed. "Think again." 

"Oh, yeah?" Jame shot back. "What makes you think we're gonna lose?" 

"We've got something special in mind for your team Potter," said the other. 

James and two of the Slytherins continued the heated argument while the third slipped behind, and took his wand out of his sleeve. He whispered a hex on the broom, and then quickly joined his two friends. Sirius was also there, defending the Gryffindors along with James. Professor McGonagall interrupted their bad-mouthing quarrel. "Boys, go back to your table." 

Snape gave a sinister look at James. "We'll see you after the game. After we win." Lily saw the scene when she came into the Great Hall with Arabella. Lily rolled her eyes and sighed. "Traditional Quidditch behavoir. When will they get over it?" 

Bella laughed. "No wonder you don't like Quidditch Lil'." 

~*~*~*~*~ 

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**Author's Note: So, how do you guys like that? Hopefully you do! Thanks to my personal dictionary/thesaurus, dummygenius! Also, personal thanks to: Crunkygurljrt and Cass for being the best beta readers!! You guys are the best!! I'll have the next chapter out soon! Remember, if you want to join the HAB Yahoo group, scroll up to the top, and you'll see the URL. Hope you join!__**

**__**

**Miss Park Avenue**


	5. Author's Note

Hey! This is just an update on this fic. I am planning on finishing Lost in the Marauder's Time first before I am going to finish this fic. Because right now, I haven;t finished any fics I've started. Lol. Thanks to all you guys who are reading my fics and sticking to them, even when I haven't updated in like 9 months! Thanks! Later dayz! Miss Park Avenue


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